


A Face No One Knows

by alcloe



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fasten your seatbelts, Homesickness, Implied Mpreg, Kiran is female, M/M, Multi, Sadness, after getting sieg from the banner i write tHIS, hopefully i did it right, i tried to give the characters dimensions so?????, it hurts me to write, it's going to be a pain train my dudes, more tags will be added, multilingual siegbert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-11 19:32:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12942156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alcloe/pseuds/alcloe
Summary: The summons of Breidablik always come from different versions of each world. They always seem to pull Heroes from worlds wrought with war and suffering, but Breidablik had its aim on something different.Having grown up in a realm of peace between the three nations of sky, land, and shadow, Siegbert is whisked away before the eyes of his family. Now in a different world, he struggles with the pain of losing his family and of seeing familiar faces he knows, but no faces who know him.





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> There are three languages in this story.  
> \- Vallite/the universal language (English) is in normal print.  
> \- Hoshidan (Japanese) is in italics.  
> \- Nohrian (French) is in underlines.  
> The Ryoumarx and Leokumi kids use familial words of the Hoshidan and Vallite languages depending on which royal. Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura are all referred with Japanese familial worlds while Camilla, Leo, and Elise are referred with English familial words. (Since Siegbert in-game calls Xander father, I wanted to keep it, though the kids do understand and speak Nohrian, Hoshidan, and Vallite.)
> 
> There is an alteration in the Deeprealm thing. The kids get picked back up from the realms when they're children, so no, they don't end up fighting in the fight against Valla. The age ranges from 1-8, depending on the child. F!Kana and M!Kana (Kane [pronounced ka-ne) (male and female Corrin are here, female referred to as Corrine) are born after the war ends.

None of them had seen it coming.   
  
Noontime in Castle Shirasagi was always quite the spectacle. Usually, Hoshidan servants darted around the castle delivering the lunches of their ladies and lieges, usually trying to figure out if King Ryoma was in the gardens or in his room or if Prince Kiragi was going to invade the foyer’s cakes again. The halls were always alight with chatter and often doubled into screaming on the occasions when the princes were feeling particularly sneaky. Though all of this was just the usual.   
  
But on that day? The day started in cheerful chaos.   
  
Siegbert smiled as his horse drew closer to Shirasagi. It had been a few weeks since he had been to his Hoshidan home, but there were matters to attend to back in Nohr. His father was getting old and there were matters being arranged for when Siegbert would be crowned king by his 25th birthday or when Xander died. It often pained him to think of it, but time marched on, waiting for no one. Hopefully by then Shiro would be ready as well. It would be lovely if he could rule a country with his brother.   
  
Wings of a pegasus flapped overhead and the crowned prince of Nohr looked up. Flaming red locks whipped in the wind. He smiled. Hinoka oba-san was here to see their safe passage.   
  
It seemed like his father noticed as well. Xander raised a hand in greeting. Knowing Hinoka, she probably nodded in response. The pegasus turned and gilded towards the castle. Some of the members of their guard babbled to follow her, but Xander shook his head. Siegbert agreed with his father. After all, this was his birthplace. He knew it like the back of his hand.   
  
Familiar cherry blossoms peaked over the hills as the Nohrian trope came to the castle limits. Hinoka’s pegasus touched down near one of the gates and the woman hopped off her steed. Siegbert felt excitement creep up his spine and a small smile flitted onto his face. Xander’s expression remained calm and serene, but  Siegbert knew he was happy to see her as much as he was.   
  
Coming down from their horses, Xander and Siegbert met up with Hinoka at the gate, having left their horses with the guards. With a grin, Hinoka leapt up to Xander and pulled him into a forceful hug. Siegbert had to stifle a laugh since his father heaved like all the air was forced out of his lungs.   
  
“It’s good to see you, Xander!” she chimed, “The gods know how much work you’ve got under your belt.” She pulled away from him with her grin still on her face. Siegbert smiled at her, both politely and simultaneously trying to keep giggles in because his father had turned blue. “And Siegbert!” His oba-san turned to him and ruffled his brown hair under her fingers. “You’re getting bigger every time I see you, I swear.”   
  
Siegbert giggled. “It’s nice to you as well, Oba-san.” Hinoka’s grin got even wider. She always got like that whenever he or Forrest referred to her as such. While he never knew the actual reason, he could guess why.   
  
“A few weeks is quite a long time after all,” Xander commented beside them as Hinoka lifted her hand from her nephew’s hair. “I’m sorry Camilla couldn’t make it this time. Corrin had come to act as a diplomat from Valla with Nina in tow, so she had to speak with him.” Siegbert’s father looked genuinely displeased at his words. He always took things hard, no matter how small. Hinoka shook her head, grin fading into a smile.

“It’s alright, Xander, I understand.” She looked around. “Leo couldn’t make it either?”

“Forrest fell ill several days ago,” Siegbert answered, “Uncle Leo stayed back in case he needed him.” Hinoka snorted.

“Leo still doesn’t trust any healer that isn’t anyone from our ‘glory days’ I see.” Xander grimaced and his son blinked. He didn’t know that much about the so-called “glory days”. He had been left in the Deeprealms as a baby and had grown up into a shy 6 year old when his parents picked him back up. By then, he presumed the war had been done, though he remembered some times when his otou-san came back home injured from some “shadow soldiers still left behind”.

His father, his otou-san, and their siblings didn’t speak of the heavy tensions Nohr and Hoshido had before he was born. They hated speaking about it, so he never pushed.

Hinoka huffed and turned on her heel. “Enough chit-chat out here! Come on, the others are waiting inside.” She strode forward as Xander and Siegbert followed. Their horses and things would be taken care of by the guards. They walked past the gate and into the castle’s grand entrance, the doors and golden dragons looming over them like guardians. Foreigners would usually be intimidated by such statues, but having played around them with his brother in his childhood, Siegbert only felt peace and tranquility.

They entered the grand doors into the massive foyer. The smattering of small mochi that were supposed to greet them on a plate next to the entrance were gone. Xander smiled good naturedly.

“It seems like Kiragi has struck again,” he mused. Hinoka groaned as Siegbert peered at the plate. Looks like Kiragi didn’t take all of them. There were two left; he was probably being considerate. He picked the two of them up and offered one to his father. Xander took it in his hand and Hinoka started to streak off in the direction of the dining hall. They ate as they followed, smiling at servants who bowed as they passed by. Siegbert hummed, delighted.

_ Sakura oba-chan always knows my favorite _ , he mused, biting off more of the snack. The strawberry mochi disappeared from his hands and judging from his father’s content sigh, his did too. Just in time, for Hinoka slid open the door to the dining hall.

“Hey Takumi, tell your son to keep his slimy hands off of the mochi!” she barked into the room. Takumi oji-san jolted from his seat and immediately turned on Kiragi, though Siegbert couldn’t see him from the angle he was standing. At the other side of the table, Sakura giggled behind her hand when Takumi started chewing Kiragi off in rapid-fire Hoshidan. Siegbert was pretty sure his father was only able to pick up bits and pieces (he never did get Hoshidan down like Uncle Leo and Auntie Elise), but he understood all of it. He laughed quietly, but it was apparently loud enough for a blond head of hair to whip out from Takumi’s side.

“Sieg!” Kiragi shouted and bounded up from his spot. The fourteen year old basically bounced over to his cousin to give him a bear hug. Takumi’s voice deflated since his son ignored him, but the entire family was used to it. Kiragi would get chewed out again later. Siegbert hugged his younger cousin back, smiling.

“Hello again, Kiragi,” he greeted. Kiragi looked up at him with the brightness of a thousand suns. “It’s only been a few weeks and the first thing I see when I come back is you getting lectured again.” The younger Hoshidan-Nohrian grinned, not at all ashamed.

“They were good though!” From the table, Takumi groaned, shaking his head. Siegbert and Kiragi separated and Sigebert saw his otou-san sitting there, a kind smile on his face. His father had already gone to greet him, as indicated on the slight flush in Ryoma’s cheeks. As Kiragi darted back to Takumi’s side, Siegbert went to Ryoma. His heart tightened as the man stood up to meet him. He bowed to him before Ryoma reached down and enveloped him in a hug. His youngest son sighed into it, content.

In his childhood, Siegbert was never far away from his otou-san. Being the one that birthed him, it was expected that Ryoma was to take care of Shiro and Siegbert in their childhood, but with the war and the peace treaties that had to divided between Nohr, Hoshido, and Valla, he couldn’t just leave his sons alone. So he brought both of them to meetings, always keeping an eye out for them and an ear out for information. He accompanied them everywhere until Shiro and Siegbert could find their way around the castle on their own, but they still drifted to where their otou-san was just because they missed him. Although their father wasn’t around nearly as often, he did the same thing, which constituted in daily outings with the royal family of Nohr and Hoshido. Sometimes they were accompanied by Leo, Takumi, Forrest, and Kiragi, and even more times did their sisters come around with them. Sometimes, Siegbert longed to have those days again, but he knew that had to end eventually.

“ _ Hello, Father _ ,” Siegbert mumbled into Ryoma’s shoulder, his Hoshidan rough from disuse. Distantly, he heard Xander chuckle and take a seat. Ryoma stroked the locks that were an identical color to his own, a smile on his face.

“ _ Hello, my son. I trust you are doing well? _ ” Siegbert nodded as he slowly pulled back, looking up at his otou-san. They were getting to the same height, though Siegbert still remained shorter than Shiro. Both of them knew it wasn’t going to last though.

“ _ I miss it here, but there are things in Nohr that had to be brought to my attention _ .” Nodding, Ryoma leaned over and kissed his son on the forehead.

“ _ Don’t tire yourself out now, Siegbert. You don’t want to end up like your father. He can’t relax for his life. _ ” Xander knew what Ryoma said there and huffed, stubbornly eating some salmon teriyaki. The table laughed at his expense and the King of Hoshido chuckled. Siegbert beamed. Leave to Ryoma to help Xander wind down away from Nohr.

“ _ I can’t guarantee it, Father, but I’ll try my hardest _ .” With that, Ryoma sat back down on at the table, sitting next to his husband. Siegbert occupied the empty seat next to his father and immediately zeroed in on the takoyaki. While eager chopsticks grappled with the takoyaki, Hinoka was grinning slyly at her older brother.

“Man, I love it when Xander and Siegbert are here,” she remarked, lazily stirring her miso soup. “It’s the only time Ryoma can be as disgustingly sappy and love-stricken as he used to.” The table laughed again, laughing harder when Ryoma’s face went the color of his armor. Siegbert happily nibbled on his food.

“You mean during his whole pining phase?” Takumi asked with chopsticks in hand. “Because that was an adventure and a half.” Hinoka snickered, Kiragi leaning in and stealing a piece of sushi from his dad’s plate. Ryoma groaned in his hands and Xander reach out to take his hand in his, smiling. Hinoka cracked up.

“Oh yeah, the pining phase.” The middle siblings grinned at each other. Sakura was having a hard time covering up her laughter while Ryoma leaned over to stuff his head into his husband’s shoulder. Although his grandiose mane of brown hair poked his nose, Xander didn’t seem to mind. Meanwhile, Kiragi and Siegbert traded looks, having no idea what they were talking about but at the same time not wanting to know what they were talking about. Xander leaned over and whispered something in Ryoma’s ear. The Hoshidan king only flushed even more.

“You two are such newlyweds,” Sakura commented from her side, smiling at her oldest brother. Takumi and Hinoka nodded fervently.

“You’re a grown adult, have been married for sixteen years, and have two sons and you still flush like a tomato,” Takumi added in his two cents, grinning maliciously. Ryoma whipped his steel gaze to Takumi.

“Says the one who does the exact same thing, abiet arguably worse,” he sneered playfully. “And tomato… is that something you picked up from Leo?”

The table erupted into laughter again, Kiragi and Siegbert joining in. Kiragi poked his otou playfully and snatched another piece of sushi. Takumi was as red as the aforementioned plant, sputtering a smattering of words that sounded neither Hoshidan or Vallite. Ryoma and Xander had grinned at each other, Hinoka shaking so badly Siegbert was afraid she was going to keel over onto the floor. Sakura offered Siegbert a plate of strawberry mochi with a bright smile, the smile widening when Siegbert snatched a good portion away. 

“Oh my gods, it’s been awhile since I had a good laugh,” Hinoka heaved. She smiled at Ryoma, Xander, and Siegbert. “Look at you three, such a happy family.” And there was that thought that was itching in the back of his head. Looking up from his pile of mochi, he asked:

“Speaking of which, where’s—”

“SIEG!” A body suddenly plowed into Siegbert’s body. The prince yelped as he was grappled onto his feet. Strong arms lifted him off of said feet, a boisterous laugh resounded from behind him. Immediately, the prince started laughing in response.

“Shiro-nii!” The crowned prince of Hoshido and Siegbert’s older brother grinned up at his little brother, spinning him around once before setting him down. Shiro patted his head with a grin.

“The weeks have been kind to you, otouto. You don’t look as tired as I expected you to be.” Siegbert rolled his eyes, punching Shiro playfully in the shoulder.

“The paperwork’s not that bad if you actually get around to doing it early. I can assume you still don’t do that?” he asked and Shiro shook his head, grinning. Belatedly, Siegbert heard Ryoma sigh into his soup.

“That’s why I came late today actually! There were some things Otou-san left for me that I got around to after morning practice. I didn’t want the next few days to be swamped with work since you and Father will be here for who knows how long, so, for once, I actually did it early.” The siblings could hear their otou-san muttering something about praises and sibling influence. Siegbert smirked.

“Looks like my nii-san is finally useful after eighteen years.” Shiro guffawed.

“Hey, I thought you were supposed to be the nice one!” Xander looked up at his sons, his eyes soft with affection.

“Settle down, children.” He stood up and went towards Shiro. Grinning, Shiro dove in to hug his father, their voices lilting with soft Nohrian no one in the table knew completely except for Siegbert. Smiling, he sat back down and starting to chow down on the mochi again. After a few minutes, Shiro and Xander finished their chat and Shiro took his seat next to Ryoma, sighing.

“Whew, I’m beat from today.” He started picking up the leftovers of the platters before him. Kiragi giggled.

“The days barely started and you’re already tired? You old man!” he snickered. Shiro scowled at him as Takumi took back the piece of fish his son stole from his plate. Kiragi whined. The rest of the table was serene, finishing up their meals while Shiro started eating. Siegbert gazed at the scene with bright eyes.

As Kiragi asked where Forrest and his father was, Siegbert looked back down at his plate. To think, the Nohr and Hoshido he had read about in ancient books could become something so peaceful was wonderful. Whatever had happened in the at had brought the two families together instead of ripping their nations into shreds. The crown princes and the second princes fell in love and in their wake were four bright eyed Hoshidan-Nohrian children ready to take up the mantle of their parents.  _ Well _ , he mused, examining his plate,  _ it might take a few more years for Shiro to feel comfortable in his role, but I’m certain he’ll be fine _ . He looked up again just in time to see Shiro reach over and grapple Kiragi into a noogie. Hinoka and Sakura were discussing something about making something for Leo, Camilla, and Elise since they weren’t there, looking at Takumi, Ryoma, and Xander for assistance. Kiragi beamed, excited to make something for his brother and father as Shiro lazily smirked.

_ Yes _ , Siegbert closed his eyes contently,  _ I’ll make sure this peace stays this way _ .

But destiny wasn’t going to have any of it.

Siegbert choked suddenly, his hand flying to his heart. Sharp pain radiated from the general area and heat started rolling off of him in waves. The entire table immediately bolted in alert at his strangled scream. His father, otou-san, and nii-san darted to him.

“Siegbert?!” Xander asked, his voice higher than its normal pitch. The youngest son’s eyes darted to his family, terrified. He didn’t know what was happening. There was no way this was happening. There was so much he was planning to do, planning to achieve, and now? Was it all going to be taken away from him? Another pain stabbed his heart and he cried out, careening sideways into Shiro’s arms. His senses were getting all muddled now. He distantly heard his otou-san ordering Takumi and Kiragi to get another healer now. Sakura must have darting away to retrieve her staff. Two strong hands gripped both of his. A voice filtered into his ears. Was it Shiro? It sounded like Shiro.

Something wet splashed onto his face. Tears? Where were they coming from? Were they his own? The pain came again, this time from his entire chest. He sobbed, involuntarily trying to curl up in a fetal position. The voices above him became three now. What are you doing? Kings don’t cry. But it hurt too much to keep it inside. It hurt so much.

Siegbert squeezed his eyes tightly. Doors opened, people came in. Sakura oba-chan was here. Was she crying too? The voices of his parents and brother fizzled away into white noise. His chest felt like it was on fire. He burned from the inside out. What happened? Was it poisoned? It couldn’t have been. Was it magic? There was a light building up from behind his eyelids, but he didn’t know where it was coming from. Who did it? Why did they do it? Why—

The burn spread to his entire body and, with the last slip of control, Siegbert shrieked and cried and howled in pain.

Why him?

The pain vanished in an instant. He was left in darkness.


	2. The Middle Ground and the Summon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert wakes from the darkness. He learns some much needed information before resting once more, but only for a short while. There’s a summoner he has to meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 3/4ths of this is worldbuilding and learning info. The last quarter is where it gets juicy.
> 
> And remember when I planned to flood this with pain? There will be pain, but there will be humor too. That’s just the way I write.
> 
> Last thing, italics without quotation marks are thoughts. I use italics for a lot of different things haha.

_(Well this is unfortunate.)_

The darkness exploded into light. Really really bright light. Gasping, Siegbert’s eyes snapped open before shutting them right after from what seemed to be the brightness of a million suns. He moved to lean on something to get his bearings, but his fingers (that were clad with gloves apparently?) felt nothing, no matter for far he leaned. To make matters even worse, he was pretty sure he was floating. What in the Dusk Dragon’s name?!

_(Oh, whoops.)_

The light in front of his eyes started to dim. Siegbert sighed in relief. Slowly and cautiously, his eyes opened just a sliver, but as soon as brightness squeezed its way into his eyeballs, he shut them. Nope, everything was still too bright. Gods, even Hoshido’s summer sun isn’t this bright, he mused.

_(Still too much? Alright, hold on a sec…)_

The light practically disappeared from beyond his eyelids. That mysterious voice mumbled some thing he could neither understand nor hear, but, assuming it was safe to open his eyes now, he opened them fully. And simply gawked. Not openly of course, he had manners.

All around him were orbs floating in a space colored aqua blue. Sparkles floated around each orb in different colors, from a dull shining bronze to a brightly shining gold. They came in different colors; there were red ones, blue, green, and grey ones as well, each with their own special set of sparkles. Siegbert willed himself to look around, since this was all obviously some sort of arcane magic that managed to trap him and/or kidnap him from his family and he did have some magic flowing in his blood unlike Takumi.

_(Wow, a snarker and a smartass. Looks like we’ve got a winner.)_

Siegbert whirled around, grimacing. That voice was coming from all around him. It wasn’t someone he recognized, nor could he figure out the gender of the voice. “If you would like to show yourself, that would be much appreciated,” he groused. The voice laughed in response, reveling in Siegbert’s ire.

_(So the calm one can be angered. Now now, I’m not here to pick fights with you, Future King, but I’ve got a job to do about this whole mess you’ve gotten yourself into.)_

As soon as the voice stopped talking, Siegbert sputtered. He was indignant, trying to pin his attention on something that could have been the voice because it was being real smart with him. He wasn’t here to play games. Though he didn’t know where “here” was to begin with. Or why he was there at all for that matter. At least he was safe (unless those orbs nearby were explosive.) “Where am I?” he demanded in the most authoritative voice he could muster.

_(Don’t get your panties in a twist, Future King. I’m gonna tell you, but first we’ve gotta discuss this here… mess.)_

An eyebrow raised, Siegbert crossed his arms. He decided to turn his attention on one of the orbs floating merrily in front of him. He reckoned it was better than shouting at air. “Mess?” he inquired.

_(Yeah. Long story short, you’re not the guy that was supposed to be taken. Well, you technically are but you’re not—well, not the right version of you—you are the right one but you really—ugh, just—do I have to explain the whole “alternate dimension” shebang to you?)_

“Alternate dimensions? Like the Deeprealms?” An eyebrow rose into his hair. He couldn’t forget about those things if he tried.

_(Oh fuck those things—Yes, the Deeprealms. It’s something like that, but instead of different worlds in a plane, think of what I’m talking about as different versions of your universe. Alternate dimensions. A bunch of them. You understand?)_

The eyebrow dropped down. Minutely, Siegbert’s pursed his lips. “While I’m currently not understanding the point of this, yes, I’m following.”

_(Good! I guess there’s one point for the Deeprealms’ existence! Making it easier to explain shit!)_

Siegbert awkwardly coughed into his hand.

_(Oh, sorry, sorry, I have a job to do. Future King, tell me, what do you know about the history between Nohr and Hoshido?)_

And oh, the eyebrow was back in the hair, just for a few seconds before plummeting back down. Siegbert’s arms moved so that one hand rested under the other arm’s elbow and the other hand touched his chin. “Nohr and Hoshido had a long running animosity that started when King Garon ordered the killing of King Sumeragi in Cheve and the kidnapping of Princess Corrine and Prince Corrin. It lasted for years as King Garon tried to invade Hoshido but was kept back by the barrier Queen Mikoto of Hoshido had erected. They went to war once Queen Mikoto died from a mysterious assailant and the barrier fell.”

_(You smart muffin you!)_ Siegbert had to smile cheekily at that. It sounded like something Aunt Camilla would say. Belatedly, his heart panged in longing. _(Alright. From what you’ve learned, what happened after?)_

“Princess Corrine and Prince Corrin sided with neither the Hoshidan nor Nohrian forces, disappearing from the battlefield for months until they returned, talking about a common enemy that they couldn’t name.”

_(What happened to the Hoshidan and Nohrian soldiers and for that matter, their royalty?)_

Siegbert sighed. His father and otou-san were never the most forward about what happened before the invasion into Valla. “They fought each other under the understanding that the other country was the one attacking instead of the invisible force. It all culminated into the Battle at Cyrkensia, where all three armies met at the city, but where Corrin and Corrine’s army revealed and beat the true enemy. The Hoshidan and Nohrian forces officially joined their army at the Bottomless Canyon. After defeating Anankos, Valla became a widely known country and Nohr and Hoshido entered a peace.”

_(Because of your parents, right?)_

Siegbert smiled. “Yes, because of my parents.”

_(Splendid! Now tell me, I need the deets—) Deets?_ he thought. _(Did Xander and Ryoma ever tell how they got together? And how they had you? Oh and Shiro?)_

_Oh my gods—_ “You said you had a job to do, is my parents’ love story really that important?” Siegbert asked incredulously. This was ludicrous. He was floating in a space with magical orbs and a disembodied voice that was supposed to tell him about why he was essentially kidnapped from his family but instead they wanted to know about his parents’ love lives?

_(Yes! I promise, it’s important to the whole explanation. Go on, tell me!)_

“W-Well, it’s rather embarrassing for me to say it out loud—”

_(Then don’t say it! Think it if you want, I’ll still hear.)_

Shoving down what that implied, Siegbert sighed again. He closed his eyes.

While neither of his parents were very wax poetic about their significant other, his aunts and uncles never let he and Shiro forget the epic that was their parents’ love life for the sake of embarrassing the kings until their wit’s end. Most of what he knew came from them.

Xander and Ryoma had gradually fallen in love in the months spent after than initial reunion at the Bottomless Canyon. Corrin and Corrine had made it their goal to get the Hoshidan and Nohrian royals know their opposite counterpart for the sake of getting the much wanted peace between Nohr and Hoshido. They had started as “frenemies”, as Elise had put it, since they didn’t get along that much at first, but Uncle Corrin and Aunt Corrine were determined.

After being shoved into who knows how many battles together, they slowly warmed up to each other. The days spent in Valla and the Astral Plane wound into weeks then months. Apparently, it was after a particularly nasty skirmish that Ryoma realized he feelings for Xander.

“Your father had come back to the Astral Plane terribly injured and poisoned,” Hinoka oba-san told Siegbert months ago, while she took care of him when he was sick with a fever. “Corrine had run out of staves in her arsenal so he was forced to go back unhealed. We almost lost him that day. Ryoma looked horrible when Sakura told him Xander was in a critical condition and had actually waited with him while he recovered. It would have been sweet if it wasn’t so heartbreaking.” She smiled. “Well, your father did recover fully, thank the gods, and Ryoma was left to wonder why he was so worried for the crowned prince of Nohr.” Hinoka started to laugh. “He panicked once he figure out he didn’t want to lose him because he loved him. Your otou-san was never the most graceful with his feelings.”

On Xander’s end, Siegbert was never told the story behind his realization of his feelings, but that was because his relatives thought it was “too soon for a young child to hear of Xander’s debauchery”.

Though after both events, things had apparently kicked off. According to Auntie Elise, both of them were absolutely useless when it came to feelings and they had to lock them in a room in the Astral Plane to tell each other what they felt. What followed had been an army wide party worthy of Cyrkensia’s most glamourous dancers.

_(Aw, how sweet! Ryoma and Xander really can be saps! But keep going! You need to tell me more.)_

In the months that followed, they eventually got married in a tiny ceremony, privy to only the closest on their side of the family. Shiro and Siegbert had been accidents.

_(Oh?)_

That’s saying it harshly, but neither of them should have been born since it had been war time and having babies during war time was highly detrimental in every plan they had plus the backup plans. Of course, Xander and Ryoma hadn’t been careful. But even then, the royal family almost lost both Shiro and Siegbert when they were in the womb.

Shiro had been kept a secret by Ryoma, who would willing go out in the battlefield despite his condition. He was only found out when, two months in, he was nearly murdered by a Vallite soldier on a particularly gruesome mission.

Siegbert came out too small and not breathing, being premature by a few weeks. None of them thought he was going to make it, but Elise and Sakura had somehow worked their magic. Sometimes Siegbert catched his aunts wondering how he grew up to be so strong despite his situation.

_(...Wow.)_

Siegbert vented through his nose. He looked up at the orb he was focusing on. The sparkles splashed around it had dimmed, as if reacting to the story. “Is that all? I don’t think I have much more to tell you, disembodied voice.” The voice remained silent. He grimaced.

_(You really are different.)_

“What?” Startled, Siegbert looked around again. “What do you mean?” In response, the voice sighed harshly.

_(Future King, tell me one more thing: how long did you stay in you Deeprealm?)_

“I stayed there until I was 6. Then I was taken back home.” The voice growled and hissed. It sounded so different than earlier. Confused, Siegbert fiddled with the gauntlets on his arms. They was quite the wardrobe, that was for sure. The voice started muttering under their breath, saying things as fast as when Kiragi was in one of his talking fits. Gods know how fast that child’s motor mouth was.

_(Okay, okay. Can you fight?)_

Siegbert nodded. “I was taught both Nohrian and Hoshidan bladework, as well as Hoshidan martial arts. I’ve been trained to be a cavalier from Father, though with my prowess with the sword, Otou-san has taught me the ways of the samurai.”

_(Good. You’re gonna need that, where you’re going.)_

_Finally getting somewhere._ “Where am I going exactly? I’ve been wondering that since I’ve been sent here,” he remarked. “In fact, this has to be related to magic.”

_(Good eye. And, uh, good sixth sense too. Basically, you’ve been called to help out in a war in another dimension!)_

_What._ “What,” he deadpanned.

_(Hey, this is serious! Listen, there’s a reason I asked you to tell me those stories. I needed to know how different you were compared to the other Fates dimensions.)_

“Is difference that bad?” he questioned.

_(It’s not bad per se, but your world is just so… different compared to a lot of the other Fates dimensions!)_

“Wait, wait, hold on a moment,” Siegbert interjected. “When you say ‘Fates dimensions’ you mean…?”

_(And here I thought you were smart! That’s what the higher ups call the universes with Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla. Your world specifically is of the Revelation continuity, so to others, you’d be from the world of Revelation.)_

“Continuity, as in a timeline. Different timelines. So there are other timelines in the Fates worlds?” Gods, and he thought the Deeprealms were a confusing concept. This was a whole lot worse.

_(In the grand scheme of things, your dimensions have three chosen paths depending on what Corrin chooses. The worlds of Birthright are worlds where Corrin chose to side with Hoshido to fight Nohr. The worlds of Conquest are worlds where Corrin chosen to side with Nohr to fight Hoshido. And the worlds of Revelation, where you’re from, are worlds where they choose neither and Valla is eventually battled.)_

“So Uncle Corrin had a choice of whether he would side with Nohr or Hoshido…” the prince mused. “What of Aunt Corrine? Where is she?”

_(...And that’s where your world starts to become different. When I say your world is different, I mean really, truly different.)_

_(In a very large majority of worlds of Birthright, Conquest, and Revelation, there is only one Corrin. Either male or female, but always named Corrin.)_

“So Uncle Corrin never had a twin in Aunt Corrine,” Siegbert surmised. “I assume there would only be Kana, no Kane?”

_(Yes. Also, and here’s one of the real kickers, Ryoma, Xander, Leo, and Takumi aren’t bi. Gay. Whatever. They aren’t homosexual.)_

Siegbert blinked. He blinked again, slowly. Then he whipped around, openly flabbergasted. “W-what?” he squeaked.

_(Oh wow, did you really expect every version of you to have Ryoma as your second parent ‘cause let me tell ya—)_

“N-no, no, I didn’t expect that at all, but…” Siegbert looked around, uncertain. “How...rare is it exactly?”

_(Plenty rare. Extremely rare. And the fact the dragon blood in Ryoma and Takumi was strong enough to mess with their internal organs makes your world even rarer. Oh, do you want to know the icing on the cake?)_

He was afraid to find out, but not it’s not like he could lock himself in a room and contemplate on the state of his world.

_(Your Deeprealms’ passages of time is much, much slower. Slow enough that the war was won while you were still children.)_

“...That’s why you asked me if I could fight.” Siegbert mummered. “Tell me, the other versions of me, because I know there are, what are they like?” The voice remained silent, making Siegbert frown deeply. He sighed, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. Slow. Calm.

_(...You are very different from them.)_ He opened his eyes. _(Many other Siegberts have grown up with stories of his father rather than his physical presence. They grew up with Xander the war hero, with deep aspirations to become as perfect a king as his father. Because of the faster passage of time in their Deeprealms, Siegberts often found themselves fighting the war against Hoshido and Valla, later regarded as a war hero himself amongst the people. That is why Siegbert is considered a Hero, but you on the other hand…)_

_(Your world should have never been touched. You grew up in peace rather than in war. You have fighting skills, but you aren’t the Siegbert summoners will expect to get.)_ The voice sighed. _(But of course Breidablik had to mess up. Shit.)_

“...I suppose it’s about time you told me exactly my purpose at present,” Siegbert ventured. The pieces were coming together finally, but he didn’t like the end result.

_(You are going to be aiding the Askr Empire, an empire who has the ability to open portals into other worlds, by being a member of the Order of Heroes. Their enemy, the Emblian Empire, is out to control Heroes from the other worlds by binding them to contracts. The Order of Heroes’ job is to break those contracts and return the Heroes back to their homes, all while keeping the Emblian Empire at bay from invading their kingdom.)_

_(However, there was a recent development. An update, if you will. Embla has joined forces with Muspell, a fire kingdom, who is conspiring to take over the world. While the Order has a new ally in the form of the ice kingdom’s princess, Fjorm, the summoners across parallel Askr universes are looking for more Heroes in even more worlds to help them in their cause.)_

_(You have been chosen to be one of those Heroes, Siegbert, the Future King.)_

Siegbert’s pallor was pale. He swallowed and looked down at his armor clad boots. He scowled. “...And I suppose I can’t return home until this summoner wills it?”

_(Yes.)_

Emotions churrened in inside him like a vicious tsunami, repeatedly hitting land again and again. What kind of twisted fate was this? Forcibly pulled from his home, from his family, then booted into a war in a whole other dimension. A dimension, in fact, that possibly had—

_(There is a high possibility you will see your parents in Askr. However, they won’t be your parents. Not the ones you know, at least.)_

“Is there a possibility to see someone from a world like mine?” he asked.

_(No. I’m sorry.)_

It felt like something was wringing his neck. He felt pinpricks start to poke at the corners of his eyes, but he rubbed the unshed tears away before they could drop. A king needed to be calm in the face of adversity. Even if this was the kind of adversity he thought no king would ever experience.

_(Will… will you be okay?)_

“Just let me rest,” Siegbert muttered defeated. He closed his eyes and willed himself to lie on his back. He imagined he was at home, Father, Otou-san, and Shiro all nearby. Kiragi would be up and around even now. Was he making a get well present for Forest? Knowing him he probably was. What about his aunts and his uncles? What were they doing as he floated in this space, waiting for his time to come?

Unbeknownst to him, a figure floated up to him. With hands outstretched, the figure began to speak.

“ _(Then you shall rest, Future King,)_ ” they said as the form of the prince devolved into a shining blob of red light. His breathing reduced to silence, his consciousness fading into unconsciousness. The light swirled and coalesced into a small red orb, gleaming and sparkling gold. “ _(for you must prepare for what awaits you on the other side.)”_

* * *

Well Alm was confused.

“Hey, what’s Kiran doing?” he leaned over to Tana, surveying the sight before him. The white and gold clad summoner was on the grass that surrounded the summoning pedestal, on her knees and screaming to the skies to some are-en-geesus or something. Tana laughed loudly while Lyn gently berated Kiran, telling her to get up to look presentable to the next summoned Hero. Kiran let out another scream and Inigo, not expecting it, dropped the clipboard he was holding on the grass. Alm belatedly watched as the dancer picked it back up with a twist of hips and a flick of the wrist that was totally unnecessary.

“She does this all the time, don’t worry,” The princess of Frelia assured. “When she hasn’t had a gold ranked Hero summoned for several days straight, she starts begging RNGsus for luck and a rare pull. It happens quite often.”

“As her number one team, we must stand guard in case there’s a particularly volatile Hero that’s summoned,” Inigo contributed. He smiled kindly at Alm, who ignored the pull at his heart—hey shut the fuck up heart he was a loyal and good man— “It makes sense why Alm doesn’t know. He was just summoned a week prior.” A ways away, Kiran stood up and stopped shouting to the heavens, but she had yet to use Breidablik.

“I’m surprised Kiran actually put you in the Alpha team,” Lyn commented. Her bow slung on her back, her own clipboard sat precariously on her lap. “She’s well known for being unwilling to separate long time fighting partners. Hence the Beta team.” The aforementioned Beta team was situated inside the Grand Hall and the castle, possibly keeping tabs and guiding new Heroes around their new home. Corrin, a resident member of the Beta team, was off to side, waiting to guide the next summoned Hero inside. “I suppose you fit better in this team than Ryoma did.”

“Indeed. Not to belittle him or anything, but he was the rather odd duckling in the group,” Inigo commented. Tana giggled.

“No kidding.” The three long time members of Kiran’s Alpha team beamed at Alm. Unable to help it, he beamed back.

“Hey Inigo, Lyn, get your clipboards ready!” Kiran hollered. The two of them raised their clipboards as a signal in response. The summoner glanced at Breidablik and her tongue poked out from beyond her lips. “Alright RNG, don’t fail me now!” With that, Kiran fired.

A blue orb materialized in the gap of the pedestal. A beam of light shot up into the skies, forcing all of them to close their eyes. When the light dimmed, a pink haired girl stood in front of them.

They all ignored Kiran’s dismayed whimper.

“Hi there, I’m Est. I’m from the Macedonian Whitewings!” The pink haired girl greeted them exuberantly. “Or… at least I was!” She laughed, nervously scratching the back of her neck. Kiran brushed off her despair and walked up to Est, greeting her with a smile.

“Welcome, Est! It’ll be nice to have you here in the Order of Heroes. There’s still some business I have to attend to here so… Corrin?” The dragon princess came up to them, smiling wide enough to see her fangs. Kiran nodded. “Yes, Corrin will guide you around the castle and give you a grand tour! If you have any questions, ask her, alright?” Est nodded. They shook hands firmly before Corrin led Est inside the castle. Kiran’s main team stared at their summoner.

“So… how exactly are we going to break it to her that is actually another version of her walking around?” Alm asked. Inigo and Lyn scribbled onto their clipboards while Kiran vented through her teeth. Tana joyously added, “Sacrificial Pit?”

“Depends,” Kiran replied, pacing in front of the summoning pedestal. She looked at her top two units. “Details?” Inigo and Lyn looked at their papers, at each other, then at their summoner.

“Sacrificial Pit,” Lyn declared. Immediately, Tana and Inigo started moaning in despair, falling onto the grass and “wailing” to the sky phrases like “what did she do to deserve this”, “is it too much for her in this world?”, and “damn you summoning deities!” like Kiran did with RNGsus earlier. Alm stared at them, horribly confused. Lyn sighed, leaned over, and not so delicately socked Inigo in the shoulder. While Inigo yowled like a kitten and Tana continued her dramatics while not so sneakily glancing at the dancer, Lyn gave Alm an exasperated look.

“Sacrificial Pit?” he squeaked. That sounded… horrible. Est seemed nice, she doesn’t deserve to be sacrificed! Lyn shook her head.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad,” she replied. “It’s just what Kiran calls the room where Heroes get to be sent back to their homes. She, quote-unquote ‘sacrifices’ them because when they leave, they leave feathers behind depending on their ranking.”

“Their glow,” Alm concluded. Lyn nodded again just as Inigo and Tana picked themselves back up. He turned to Kiran, who sat on the grass with Breidablik on her lap. “It’s because she glowed brown, right?”

“Bronze, actually,” Tana cut in. “We’re all gold rank Heroes. Bronze ones…”

“They’re weak,” Kiran cut in. The Heroes watched her stand up and stretch. “While I could take the time to power up the bronze ranked Heroes, there are some Heroes that, even when I promote them to gold rank, are still weak amongst the rest of the bunch. Unfortunately, Est is one of them.” Kiran cocked the gun and pointed it at the summoning pedestal. “It’s better if I send her home than keep her to rot.” The team traded looks and Alm looked distraught, but the other three weren’t fazed. “Hey, this is my last shot, then we’re going back inside, alright?”

“Right!” they answered in tandem, Alm recovered. Kiran inhaled, exhaled, looking straight at the pedestal. She grimaced at it. With a heave, she fired for the last time today. A red orb appeared in the gap and smoke billowed out from the bottom of the pedestal. Kiran gasped and her team pitched forward. It was the first time today that happened. Alm looked at Lyn since the other two were laser focused on the pedestal. Wordlessly, Lyn looked back, her right hand with four finger up and her left with five fingers out. Alm’s face brightened. The team watched the smoke curl around their summoner’s feet and a bright beam of light shot out of the stone, hitting the sky. They squeezed their eyes tightly closed. The light dimmed and all of them tentatively opened them. Kiran shrieked in pure happiness.

Standing in the middle of the disappearing smoke was a teenager, younger than probably all of them. Blond hair matted his forehead, curls wrapping delicately around his ear. He looked vaguely familiar, his armor black with gold details and a huge pauldron on his left shoulder. A pinkish cape wrapped around his neck like a scarf and billowed midway down his back. While he looked like a steeled soldier, his copper eyes were kind. Surprisingly, he bowed shortly at the waist before straightening. Kiran’s eyebrows disappeared into her hair. The team was just in awe.

“It’s good to meet you,” he began. His voice was higher than they expected. He was pretty youthful then. “I’m Siegbert. Prince Xander of Nohr is my father,” Whether he noticed the surprised cries of the Alpha team or not, he didn’t acknowledge them. Kiran stared at him. “so as future king, I’ll give it my all.” He smiled at her.

The air was still between them, neither newly summoned or summoner moving, just their eyes on each other, copper on chocolate.

“Well!” Inigo suddenly bounded up to them and grabbed Kiran by the shoulders. Kiran yelped as the rest of the team followed after him. “It’s nice to meet you Siegbert. Come on, Kiran, doesn’t the summoner have anything to say…?” He elbowed her in the ribs. She snapped at him to stop before calming down. Her face lit up with a grin.

“I was just surprised that’s all!” she remarked. She reached a hand out to Siegbert. Noticing, he took and shook it firmly. “It’s good to have you here, Siegbert. Come on, I’m sure what’s going on has been explained to you already in that weird middle ground, but if you have anymore questions feel free to ask!” Siegbert nodded.

“I will if the time comes,” he replied. Kiran beckoned the Alpha team and Siegbert to follow her as they passed through the side doors into the main foyer. Siegbert trailed behind them all, seemingly lost in thought. She glanced at him, then at her team. They met her gaze and, like clockwork, converged onto the newest member of the army as Kiran let her thoughts take over.

_I trust the Alpha team to be a good welcoming party,_ she mused as Tana started speaking excitedly to Siegbert. _But there’s something different about this Siegbert. He’s different than the one we fought after we found Fjorm. What is it?_ Kiran watched as Inigo started speaking, presumably about how his own mother is here like his father is. Surprisingly, Siegbert looked...pained talking about it. It was a good thing Lyn picked up on it and diverted the conversation, instead asking what kind of weapon he used. Alm peered at his Dark Greatsword like a child staring at a goldmine of candy or free money. Kiran giggled. _Well, it’ll be nice to have him here at least._ She watched Siegbert explain his weapon, saying he didn’t really know that much about it since he found it on his waist when he arrived. Kiran blinked. _Wait, that isn’t right._

_His eyes. They look kind of red… was he… crying?_

Lyn looked at her. She discreetly shook her head. Sighing Kiran, made her way over to the talking group right up to Siegbert. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away, inwardly smirking at his surprised yelp. Inigo, Lyn, Alm, and Tana hurried to follow them.

“Come on, princey, we’ve got to take you to the Grand Hall,” Kiran chimed. “ A bunch of Heroes are usually gathered there. It’s a good place to expose new Heroes what it’s like to be amongst legends like my bunch here.” She winked at her team and they all flushed varying shades of red. Their summoner was so nice sometimes. Siegbert eyed them, but said nothing, willingly letting himself be dragged off.

The Grand Hall was nothing to sneeze at, especially after Kiran got her hands on some orbs and upgraded the place. Heroes bustled around in bunches, mulling around the announcement board that only Kiran could really take a gander at, the Quest Fountain, the Friends Pedestal, or Feh’s perch. The top of the stairs were only reserved for the Alpha team, though some Heroes did hang around the steps themselves.

“Hi guys, I’m back!” Kiran announced as soon as she literally kicked the door open. Used to their summoner’s antics, her Heroes greeted her hello, acknowledge her presence with a look or a sound, or ignored her completely. Some of the Heroes noticed the new face and watched them curiously. Kiran heard Siegbert gulp in what she assumed to be nervousness and, with a smile, she reached out and patted his arm. He nodded a little, but still didn’t look too comfortable.

“Well this is a surprise!” Eirika, another member of the Beta team walked up to them, smiling. She was one of the only ones who were actually close with Kiran for her status as the sword user in the Beta team. “You summoned a new gold rank Hero, Kiran?”

“Yes, I did!” Kiran bubbled. She gestured to Siegbert with a flourish (think that one Will Smith meme) while her main team chuckled behind them. “This is Siegbert, from the world of Conquest and—”

“Revelation, actually,” Siegbert cut in, not meeting his summoner’s eye. “I’m from the world of Revelation.” Kiran blinked at him, surprised. Eirika also looked surprised, but not as much as their summoner. The Alpha team traded looks of uncertainty.

“Revelation? Not many of the Heroes summoned here are from the world of Revelation,” Eirika said. “I’ve heard it’s hard to retrieve Heroes from there.”

“It should be,” Kiran put in. She stared at him again. “Askr’s only got access to Conquest and Birthright. How did you get here?” Siegbert still refused to look them in the eye, much less talk to them. Kiran opened her mouth, about to say something, when she spotted something familiar in the corner of her eye. She turned and beamed. Curious, Siegbert looked up and followed her gaze. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes shrunk to pinpricks.

“Xander! Camilla!” Kiran called. The two royals of Nohr looked at each other. They couldn’t ignore the wildly waving arm of their summoner so they started making their way over. She grinned when they came up to her. “There’s someone I’d like you to—”

Something whooshed behind her. Xander and Camilla jolted in surprise as boots started thundering away from them. Inigo and Lyn started shouting at someone to stop while Alm suddenly dashed to the door that was now slamming shut. Kiran’s eyes widened. Vaguely, she heard Inigo start ordering Lyn and Tana, Alm already gone. The Heroes all around them abruptly hardened into the battle ready warriors she summoned and/or cultivated.

“He ran away,” Inigo shouted, catching the attention of the other Heroes nearby. “Split up and start looking for him!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two main teams and a ton of sub teams. The two mains are Alpha and Beta, Beta being the older one I used when I first started playing and Alpha being the newer one that gets the job done faster.
> 
> Alpha: PA!Inigo (Leader), B!Lyn, Alm, Tana
> 
> Beta: You’ll be introduced to the rest of them soon. Though if you know my tumblr well enough, you know who they are. ;)

**Author's Note:**

> I assume being compacted into a red ball of energy is no peaceful task. We're talking mind, body, and soul here.
> 
> There isn't really a set plot, but is instead a set of connected shots as Siegbert deals with being in Askr. This also happens post Book 2, so whatever happens next chapter will have Book 2 spoilers.


End file.
